Allentown, Pennsylvania-area home sales rose 24.9 percent in March compared to the same month in 2018, according to Redfin.

That placed the Lehigh Valley third nationally behind No. 1, Camden, N.J., and the City of Baltimore, two East Coast cities whose cheap housing has drawn interest, as the former Rust Belt becomes more appealing to buyers.

The median sales price in the Allentown area was $184,900, according to the statement. Nationally, the median sales price was $295,100, down 0.1 percent from a year ago, and total sales increased 2 percent. The lower sales price marks the first decline since 2012.

The report said sales increased in areas where prices and taxes are relatively low. Sales fell year-over-year in California and other West Coast locations, such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle.

“Homebuyers have backed off in West Coast metros where home prices have risen far out of their budgets,” Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather said in the statement. “The opposite is happening in more affordable metros where buyers are eager to buy now to take advantage of low mortgage rates.”

Www.redfin.com is a brokerage website founded by software engineers that provides online real estate tools for consumers.